Rodney McKay and the Piano
by sineout
Summary: Rodney finds his muse, and Teyla finds him playing the Piano. A little accident finds him in the care of his Muse.
1. Rodney McKay and the Piano

**Continuity: Set about seven weeks after Brain Storm (5x16), or about two weeks after Rodney and Jennifer's return to Atlantis (two weeks holiday, plus 18 days travel time back)**

**Author Note: I had always liked the idea that Rodney being with Jennifer would bring out his musical leanings, this is just one way I see it happening.**

**Spoilers: Minimal, but possibly anything up to Brain Storm**

**Obviously, I don't own Stargate Atlantis, or any of its characters.**

**-*-*-**

**Rodney McKay and the Piano**

In the two weeks that Doctor Rodney McKay was back in Atlantis, his mind had wandered far more times than he cared to admit. Much to the consternation of Zelenka who was getting tired of Rodney's absent mindedness, even if he did understand the reasoning why behind it.

Rodney was, of course, thinking of Jennifer, still not believing his luck even seven weeks after her confession. He was also surprised that he was thinking about the piano again.

When he suggested a music room be set up in the city, many people were understandably surprised, Rodney was not known for his appreciation of the Arts, even way back when he made the suggestion.  
But others agreed that it was a good idea, and some of the more musically inclined on the city even offered some lessons in their free time to others who wanted to pick up an instrument.  
Privately, Rodney wanted a piano available, on the slim chance that he wanted to tickle the ivories again.

He'd played for himself a handful of times, but he continued to hear the criticisms of his Piano teacher while he was playing, saying he was a fine clinical player, but had no sense of the art, so Rodney stopped playing to himself.  
So of course, he was surprised to be considering it again.

Still, it was close to midnight, and he was stood outside the Music room.

Steeling himself, he swiped his hand over the door control sensor the door smoothly opened for him, he glanced around the room, checking if anyone was in there, and let out his breath when he saw the room was empty.  
He quickly focused on the Grand Piano that dominated the room and made his way to it.  
He made sure to prop up the lid of the Piano before taking a seat and began to play a few keys, almost immediately recoiling when he realised how loud it was in the dead of night.

Rodney in his single minded focus failed to realise that he hadn't closed the door of the room, and had started playing completely oblivious to that fact.

Teyla was walking with Torren, trying to lull him back to sleep, when she heard the sound of a Piano, played expertly, at least to her ears anyway.  
She had not known anyone in the city who could play so well, so she was naturally curious as to who it was, and she noticed that Torren seemed to like the music he was hearing.

It took her a few minutes to locate the source of the music and was shocked to find Rodney sitting at the Piano.  
She had not known he could play at all.  
Within a minute of her arriving, Rodney had finished playing.

"I did not know you played the Piano, Rodney" Teyla said softly a few seconds after he'd finished.

Rodney looked up sharply at Teyla, a look of dread in his eyes, before he abruptly stood up without pushing the stool he was sitting on back first, causing him to stumble and land solidly on the floor.

He stood back up, nursing his wrist, but trying to save face as much as he was able to.

"Yes, well, err, I'm not that good, I know that, I just sometimes like to, err, play when nobody is around, keep the skill up, you know?" He covered, his cheeks burning a beet red.

"I thought you were rather good, actually, but perhaps we should get you to the infirmary, your wrist looks in need of attention" She replied, sincerely, glancing with come concern at the Doctors swelling wrist.

"Really?" Rodney answered, not even arguing against going to the infirmary, partly because he was surprised at the praise, but also because he knew Jennifer was on the Night Shift that night.

It was five minutes before they got to the infirmary, when Jennifer saw them, she simply rolled her eyes, but said, with a smile.  
"What have you done to yourself now?" to Rodney.

"He was playing the Piano in the music room, and I must have startled him when he finished playing, he stumbled and fell" Teyla responded.

"You were playing the Piano?" Jennifer asked, her interest piqued, while running a scan over his hand and wrist.

"Rather expertly, I must add" Teyla chimed in.

"I was terrible, I was just thinking about playing, and I decided, with your Night Shift, that now was as good a time as any" Rodney tried to explain.

Torren started to cry, and Teyla bid them farewell, to see if walking with him would help him back to sleep.

"I'm sure you were not as bad as you think" Jennifer replied kindly, "I didn't even know you were still playing." She finished, checking the scan to find no broken or fractured bones, just a sprained wrist.

Rodney was about to argue back before he deflated, realising that with Teyla gone, he had no reason to keep his bravado up, "Honestly, I haven't played in three years, I was just thinking about, well, you, and the idea to play popped into my head. So I decided to play. What was strange, I didn't hear my instructors voice telling me that I wasn't good enough, that's never happened before" Rodney somehow mumbled in his staccato manner.

She understood, and put an ice pack around his wrist.  
"I think you've just found your muse" she answered.

"My Muse? Oh, it's you, isn't it," Rodney smiled, "I think you're right".

Jennifer had finished wrapping his wrist in a pressure bandage, and Rodney lifted his hand as if to make a point.

"But, with this, you're not going to be able to hear your affect on my performance for sometime" Rodney grinned.

"I can wait, and with my care, I won't have to wait long" She smiled her reply back, taking his arm and kissing his bandaged wrist.

Rodney had quickly forgotten his instructors criticism, he had something far more important, an incentive to keep on playing.

**-*-*-**

**The ending could do with a great deal of improvement, but I wrote out most of this in about thirty minutes and then sat on it for the last week or so, so I decided to just finish it off as best as I could and upload it here.**

**Either way, please feel free to tear this to shreds.**


	2. Rodney McKay the Concert Pianist

**Continuity: Set about nine weeks after Brain Storm (5x16)**

**Author Note: I requested extension to Rodney McKay and the Piano (also added as a second chapter to that too)  
****Dedicated to DaniWilder and deblease, both of whom are essentially the reason why this chapter exists, and the tone of the chapter in general.**

**Spoilers: Set after Infection (5x17), possible spoilers up to that episode.**

**Obviously, I don't own Stargate Atlantis, or any of its characters.**

**-*-*-**

**Rodney McKay the Concert Pianist**

It was just Rodney's luck. No sooner had he finally been freed from the pressure bandage and promised Jennifer her performance, that Todd's crippled Hive turned up, leading them into a spectacular crash in the sea.  
Rodney was glad that it was just a crash, and that the ship didn't impact with enough velocity to be vaporised. But he didn't verbalise those sentiments to anyone but Jennifer.

Now with four days of enforced rest, Rodney was again prepared to finally make good on his promise, and he could tell that Jennifer was looking forward to the performance.

Truth be told, Rodney was terrified, he'd never performed in front of any sort of audience, not that he counted his instructor as an audience, more, a necessary evil, and he didn't really count the handful of times he'd played in front of his family either, since Rodney knew that they were obligated to like what he did, regardless of how bad he was. It was one of those unwritten rules that he had a difficult time understanding its purpose.

This was all in spite of his aspirations of becoming a concert pianist one day. Aspirations that were dashed by that damnable instructor and his seemingly impossible standards.  
Not that Rodney could _really _begrudge him that, since Rodney knew enough about himself to know that he was just as demanding of his colleagues, particularly those he silently respected.

Due to his worries, Rodney decided that he had best be prepared, and decided to make a date of it, because even if he ended up being as terrible as he thought he was going to be, at least he can spend some time with Jennifer, which was always a good thing in his book, no matter the humiliation he may have to endure to get that time.

So it was with that thought that he found himself in the Mess hall, picking up two trays of food and completely ignoring John's, Teyla's, Ronon's and Carson's inquiring looks.  
The reason for their looks was a simple one, Teyla had told them of his midnight outburst of music that was the ultimate cause of his then sprained wrist, but they hadn't told him that they knew.  
More than that, they had noticed how reclusive he had been the last few days, and weren't quite sure why.  
They had figured that Rodney was just trying to put some effort into his relationship and decided to leave it for the story that John was telling before Rodney absent-mindedly wandered into the mess hall.

-*-

Rodney surveyed his handiwork in the Music room. This time, he had ensured that the door was locked, so he wouldn't be disturbed in setting up the room.  
It was almost 1900 hours, which was when Jennifer was to turn up.

Jennifer turned up just as Rodney's watch ticked over to a minute past, and she immediately noticed the work Rodney had put into the room to make his performance more into a date. She realised, almost as soon as she saw this, that Rodney was just laying down some contingencies, because, even though, he took to heart the idea that he may have found his muse, he was still reticent to accept that he was any good.

"It's no Concert Hall, but, I had to make do with what I had," Rodney said, smiling nervously and opening his arms up as if to describe the room they were in.

"So, since this performance is for you, what do you want me to play," Rodney paused and pointed at the sheet music he had brought, not that he really needed most of them since he could remember exactly how to play every one, it was more so Jennifer could choose her own play list more than anything else.

Jennifer rifled through the sheet music until she came across one that lit up her face.

"You can play this?" she asked, excited.

"I can certainly try" he replied, as he took the music placed it on the stand on the Piano and seated himself

-*-

Radek Zelenka probably had the largest shock of his life. It didn't even compare to the _actual_ shock he received way back when Rodney got himself into that snafu with the Ascension machine.

_'Rodney could play the piano. And he played expertly. Who would have thought it?'_ Radek thought as he was rushing, so surprised that he decided he must tell someone, having already been told by Major Lorne and seeing the evidence himself. So, he decided, who better to find out than the rest of his friends. Or at least the closest things Radek thought Rodney had to friends.  
Though, now with the knowledge that Rodney could play the piano, it was like anything could be possible.

John was finishing up on his rather lengthy story when Radek skidded to a halt in the Mess Hall.

"Come, you must see this" Radek half demanded to the table, out of breath from his rushing.

"See what Radek? What's wrong?" John asked, worried.

"Just come, to the Music room, you _have_ to see this" Radek stressed.

The occupants of the table shared some knowing looks, then grinned as they got up hurriedly to leave the Mess Hall

"Wait, you knew?" Radek sounded mildly irritated, "why didn't you tell anyone?", to the backs of the occupants of the table.

-*-

By the time John, Teyla, Ronon and Carson reached the Music Room, there was already a sizeable crowd, John figured at least fifty people were in the room, staring silently with rapt attention at the person sitting at the Grand Piano that dominated the room.

Rodney McKay was playing masterfully at the piano, but his attention was not on the room, or the people, or the radiated awe that was directed at him. He didn't look the least bit embarrassed or put out, he actually looked calm, at peace even, if such a thing were possible for the highly strung man.  
No, his focus was firmly placed on the woman who, it was obvious, was the _only_ member of the audience, no, the only person other than himself, in the room.

He continued to play, seguing into different pieces that Jennifer was pointing to every three or four minutes. Letting her conduct his performance in a manner that was almost as masterful as the deft hands on the keys.

It was half an hour before Rodney finally finished playing, and when silence filled the room, the rapture lasted a few more beats before the _other_ audience lead an applause that could be heard on the other side of the city.

It was only then that Rodney noticed everyone else, and he blushed a beet red when he realised the size of his audience.

But he fought the urge to flee, and looked back into Jennifer's eyes to find the strength that was threatening to run away from him anyway.

"Wow," Jennifer smiled, "I think, given the reaction, you're a Concert Pianist now." Causing Rodney to give her a bright grin as thanks.

**-*-*-**

**Again, the existence of this chapter is essentially thanks to DaniWilder and deblease.  
****Given the last 'chapter', I think I did much better, given that it was written in one sitting.**

**As before though, the end, particularly the last line, could do with improvement.**

**Of course, as always, feel free to tear this to shreds.**


End file.
